Renegades: Legacies of Our Fathers
by Ghost1Who1Walks
Summary: An assassin is on the hunt for Dante's head, and her status as a full-blooded child of a Devil Knight makes her confident that she can beat him. But when a pair of rogue Demons show up to defend him, the assassin may get more than she bargained for. OCs!
1. Author's Note

This foreword is primarily for first-time readers who want a better understanding of what exactly Devil May Cry: Renegades is and how it relates to the canon. For those who want to get right to the story and figure things out for themselves, feel free to skip this and go straight to the first act. Please note, however, that this is technically Episode 5 of my series; I'm posting this first rather than Episode 1 because it contains actual canon characters, thus satisfying 's requirements, and I'll go back and start uploading the other four if people like this one enough.

DMC: Renegades was primarily inspired by the Devil May Cry anime series, which demonstrated that there was an entire world of activity outside of the games, but also the Star Wars Expanded Universe, which works to explain and elaborate on things shown in the films. Renegades and all related works are meant to fulfill the same role; taking things that are mentioned in the Devil May Cry games and giving them reasonable explanations, as well as providing some compelling adventure stories. For example, the first game features lizardmen enemies known as Blades, yet the fourth game brings them back under a different name, Assaults. Why would that be? Well, my explanation is that, as both games mention the lizardmen were bred to serve the Demon Emperor and they wear armor into battle, these creatures are the soldiers in an army that serves under the Emperor; Blade refers to the division they were created for, while Assault is the name of the actual creature. Other topics I'll attempt to tackle include the actual circumstances surrounding the Demon World's war with the humans and Sparda's rebellion, how Demon World society functions (for example, how the more numerous Lesser Demons relate to the larger/more powerful/less numerous "Greater" Demons that are the bosses of the series) and exactly how Demonic powers behave.

Our eyes into the Devil May Cry world take the role of a pair of Greater Demons by the name of Fenrir and Hantu. Devil May Cry 3 as well as the anime reinforced the idea that not all Demons are evil, murderous bastards; that some are more neutrally-aligned or even have a positive opinion of humans. Fenrir and Hantu are two such neutrally-minded individuals; originally officers serving under the Devil Knight Sparda, they took part in the war with the humans and began having second thoughts midway through. Spared by Sparda during his rebellion, the two took the initiative and went into self-imposed exile in the Human World. Now, 2000 years later, they make a living as mercenaries, willing to fight either man or Demon so long as the money's good. They maintain a few connections with their former home, which exists as a source of work and resources for the pair, but mostly try to stay under the radar; after all, the ruling body of the Demon World has a tendency to execute deserters with extreme prejudice.

Renegades follows the same sort of episodic format that an ongoing television series would; it has a few overarching plotlines, but most episodes are self-contained stories that have a definite end and beginning. As a result, while the primary plot of the episode is resolved, it has a semi-cliffhanger ending that leads into the sixth episode. If you guys like this one, maybe you'll get to see the continuation? ;)

Wow, you had the patience to sit through all that? Far be it from me to keep you from the story any longer; feel free to move on to the first act.


	2. Legacies of Our Fathers: Act 1

The dark street was illuminated only by the glow from a red neon sign, its light giving a warm glow to the otherwise cold and empty pavement. That didn't last, however, as black shapes slid silently across the ground towards the source of the light. At first appearing as puddles of black liquid, the shapes stopped as they drew closer to the sign, rose up and began to take form. The silhouettes of hunting dogs emerged from the liquid, their red eyes scanning the building in front of them.

The shadowy hounds spread out and moved forward, sliding in under the door and through cracks in the windows. Once inside, they began to inspect each room; first the main office with its impressive collection of weaponry hanging from the walls and its desk that was bare save for a telephone and a picture frame, then the kitchen and restroom behind it. Their target so far missing, the creatures expanded their search to the upper floor and the single room left in the building. The lead dog crept up to the closed door and slowly, quietly, pulled it open.

BANG.

The creature stumbled backward from the gunshot, hit the railing, and slid under it to fall back down to the bottom floor. The room's occupant yawned as he opened the door the rest of the way, pushing his white hair out of his face with the hand that still held the pistol. "Don't you guys know it's rude to go snooping around someone's house in the middle of the night?"

The black hounds growled at their target, though none attempted to advance; they seemed unsure of what to do next.

"What's wrong, pups? Cat got your tongues?" The man laughed as he pulled a second pistol, identical to the first save for their differing white and black casings, out from under his red coat. "So why don't we just skip the talking and get right to the action?"

Firing both guns at separate targets simultaneously, his rain of bullets caused the demons to scatter, finally urging them into battle. One approached his flank from the stairs and it lunged towards him, its neck suddenly elongating as it spread its jaws. The man leapt skillfully into the air, above the waiting teeth, and brought his feet back down onto the demon's head. As he leapt away, using the demon as a stepping stone, he unleashed a concentrated barrage of gunfire; the hound shrieked with pain as the bullets tore it to pieces, then melted away into a puddle of black ooze and lay still.

A demon on the ground floor attempted the same attack, but from a different position; as the man sailed through the air, it waited until he was right above it, then stretched its neck straight up, attempting to snatch the red-coated man out of the air. He refused to be caught off guard, however; planting each boot between the demon's jaws and pushing them apart, he fired straight down the creature's throat. It too screamed as it collapsed, and the man landed in its remains with two more demons waiting on either side. Instead of attempting to bite down, the two stretched their claws out to slash at the man.

Flashing them a quick grin, he rolled out of the way seconds before they could strike home, the pistols in his hands taking on a red glow. As he regained his footing, he fired each at either target, the each bullet striking with a flash of red energy. These demons collapsed as well, and the room fell silent once more. The man glanced around the room before returning his pistols to their holsters. "Hm, coulda sworn there were five of them." He thought on it for a moment, then shrugged. "Ah well, I always did suck at math."

***

The air shimmered, and the lone surviving hound emerged in a stone tunnel. Standing before it was a tall figure in a flowing cloak made of black fog and a marble white mask, bearing a woman's face in a placid expression. The figure glanced down at the creature, green light glowing from slits in the mask's eyes. "You're certain it's him? No mistaking it?"

The creature growled and nodded its head and the figure seemed to relax its position. "Excellent…" She breathed, unable to keep the anticipation from adding a hint of excitement to her voice. She addressed the demon again. "Go, rejoin your pack, I have another matter to take care of…and then the hunt can begin."

***

As far as cities go, humanity takes great pride in the scale and grandeur its cities are capable of. Many capitals around the world have been designed to inspire a sense of awe in its visitors, impressing upon them the strength and sophistication of its people. Tartarus, however, capital of the Demon World, could easily put them all to shame; its wide streets stretched for miles and were lined by a massive network of structures that could tower over the tallest of skyscrapers. Like the humans, many of its residents took pride in its scale, referring to it as a monument to their superiority over the pitiful humans. Kalaratri, however, simply found it to be a nuisance. Its sheer size made the act of getting to where you wanted to go quickly and efficiently almost impossible, requiring an intimate knowledge of the towers and tunnels and bridges that interconnected all of the buildings to avoid getting lost. And while this was little hassle for her, having lived in Tartarus for several hundred years, coming here only reminded her of how its architects had carelessly ignored convenience in favor of having something they could be proud of; and that was what bothered her the most.

Kalaratri's misty cape left a trail of fog behind her as she turned another corner, leapt down a few flights of stairs, and crossed a hallway to where a group of armored guards stood watch outside a large set of double doors. As she approached, they became aware of her presence, and the closest one held his hand up to halt her. "Hold. State your business here."

"I'm here to see Lord Koshchei." She answered.

"Very well, but make it brief." The guard said as he waved her past. Kalaratri pushed the large doors open, but as she walked through, she could hear the guards whispering to each other.

"Koshchei? Who'd be interesting in seeing that crusted old coward?"

The word 'coward' caused Kalaratri to tense up and her green eyes began glowing more brightly. She slowed her step to catch the response.

"Oh, give it a rest, already. I'd like to see you agree to go chasing after THE Sparda, much less Sparda in his prime."

The initial guard responded with a growl of indignation. "I'd do it without a second thought if our conquest of the Human World was at stake! What does it say about a Devil Knight when a lowly grunt like me is willing to fight an opponent that he isn't?"

Kalaratri put it out of her mind and kept walking. The cloaked woman made her way down several staircases and reached the dimly-lit bottom level, where the door to a large library hung open. "Father?" she called out calmly as she walked in "Are you in here?"

There was not an immediate answer; instead, she heard the sound of a heavy weight being dragged across the floor and a wheezing breath. A large creature emerged from behind a bookcase on the other side of the room, its actual size distorted by its forward hunch and the smoky shroud that covered much of its body. Koshchei's head was concealed by the skull of a large stag, the antlers forming a thorny crown above him, and several long, bony arms stuck out of the shroud's sides and dragged along the ground beside him. When he spoke, his voice made the sound of dry bones scraping against each other and the slow wheezing of labored breath. "Ahhh, Kalaratri. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"I just came to tell you that I'll be leaving for a few days, father, on an important errand to the Human World."

The Devil Knight's red eyes stared at her from behind the skull. "A hunt?" He asked.

"Yes sir."

"Haaaah" Koshchei said slowly. "Very good. After mighty prey, are you?"

"The mightiest." She answered with a hint of pride. Her father didn't seem to share in her enthusiasm.

"You're not chasing after Sparda again, are you?"

Kalaratri swallowed her breath for a moment, then replied "No sir," comfortable that she was technically answering honestly.

"Because nothing good can come from seeking conflict with that man. I had some very good reasons when I refused to face him, and those same reasons apply to you."

"But…!" She began, about to inform him of how his own soldiers were dragging his name through the streets, but held her tongue; it was a conversation they'd had several times before, and nothing would be any different this time. "Yes father." As she bit her lip during her response, she reminded herself: this time WOULD be different, especially once she had returned from her hunt.

Nodding, as if satisfied that his daughter had learned her lesson, Koshchei continued. "Be sure to see me when you return and tell me how your hunt fares."

"Believe me, father," Kalaratri said with renewed resolve. "I will."

***

"Aw, COME ON!" Fenrir shouted as he pounded his fist against the sofa. "You were wide open! How hard is it to run three feet further to the left and NOT waltz right out of bounds?!"

For the most part, this was an ordinary apartment occupied by two young adults; messy rooms containing furniture chosen for comfort and entertainment rather than style, with little in the way of decoration. But this was far from an ordinary home, for its two occupants were far from ordinary humans. Fenrir, a muscular and blue-skinned Demon resembling a humanoid wolf, sat on the sofa and roared expletives at the sports team losing on the television. His hands and feet were coated with a thin layer of ice, as were the horns on his head that curved back along his skull. A frustrated growl flashed a set of sharp teeth, and he glared at the screen through red eyes. Hantu, a thin and black-skinned Demon with a loose layer of skin that resembled a hood covering his head and a cloak hanging from his neck, glanced up from the fresh batch of mail he was looking through and smirked with amusement at his blue-skinned companion shouting at the television. His ghostly-white face stood as stark contrast to the rest of his body, drawing the casual observer's attention to his unsettlingly large eyes. The irises and coronas were a pitch-black, giving the distinct impression that the sockets were empty save for the glowing red pupils that seemed to hang in empty space. Neither Demon went unarmed, even in the relative safety of their often-overlooked home; a large zweihander with an icy-blue blade sat propped up against the sofa next to Fenrir, while a pair of wakizashi with bone-white blades could be seen attached to Hantu's waist beneath his cloak.

The pale-faced demon asked with his raspy voice "Tell me: better or worse than a total disaster?"

The wolf demon leaned back against the couch and rubbed his temples. "John's gonna hang this game over my head for WEEKS…"

"Well, you win some, you…" Hantu trailed off as he pulled a letter out of an unmarked envelope. He scanned the hand-written page in attentive silence, and his partner noticed the unusually long pause.

"Uh, buddy?"

Walking over to him, the hooded assassin held the letter out for Fenrir. "You'll want to take a look at this, my friend."

Shutting the game off, Fenrir took the letter and began reading it out loud. "'Greetings to Fenrir Lupus and Kubor Hantu. We wish to hire your formidable skills for a matter of great importance…' What the hell is this? Who sent it?"

Hantu held the envelope up for him to see. "A job offer from an anonymous source, it seems." As two Demons living in secret in the Human World, Fenrir and Hantu supported themselves by working as mercenaries for hire; though wishing to escape the notice of the Demon World's rulers made the choice of occupation seem counterintuitive, the fact that any Demon so inclined to report the pair never lived to speak of their encounter ensured that the two renegade warriors remained safely anonymous.

The wolf demon shook his head and kept reading. "'Know that while we cannot reveal our identities, we share your interests; loyalty and support for the Legendary Dark Knight, Sparda.' Wait, 'support'? Are these humans?"

"Keep reading."

"'Our sources have informed us that Kalaratri, daughter of Koshchei, is currently traveling to the Human World and seeks to take the life of Sparda's son, Dante.' Woah woah woah, WHAT? Sparda never had any kids, did he?"

Hantu shrugged. "I couldn't say, honestly. He went under the radar after the war, only popping back up at random intervals in defense of humanity. If he ever had any sons, it was never made public knowledge."

Fenrir thought on this for a moment before continuing. "'We all owe Sparda a great deal, and it would be ungrateful of us to stand idly by while an attempt is made on his son's life. But as we lack the strength to protect him ourselves, we appeal to your sense of duty and ask that you go in our stead. We have already wired 20,000 in cash to your bank account, and will deliver an additional 20,000 when Kalaratri has been stopped.'" He stared at the last paragraph for a moment and laughed. "Sense of duty, huh? Atleast they're paying well."

"Does it say anything else? Any information?" Hantu asked.

"Just an address for a building a few towns over, which I'm guessing is where this 'Dante' lives."

"A few 'towns' over? Assuming this letter was delivered sometime today, we'd best get moving if we're to get to him in time to stop the assassination."

As Hantu went and grabbed their car keys, Fenrir glanced at the letter one more time, specifically at Sparda's name. "Sparda's son, huh…been a long time since I was reminded of our own debt…"

He followed Hantu out to their car and got it started up; as he did, he remembered the last time he ever saw the Legendary Dark Knight. Having been assigned to the Human World invasion force, they had been given a room in the barracks of the Temen-ni-guru, the tower that served as their foothold in human territory. The pair had been off duty when Sparda came to call…

***

"God damn, what the hell is all that racket?!"

Fenrir, two thousand years younger, stuck his head out into the hall while Hantu lurked cautiously behind him. Another Greater Demon stumbled into the room, clutching the bloody stump where his arm had been.

"Geeze, what happened to you?"

"It's Sparda…" The wounded officer gasped, still in shock. "General Sparda has gone mad and turned against us!"

Fenrir's jaw hung open. "You're…you're kidding me, right??"

The Greater indicated his missing arm. "This is his handiwork! Our comrades are trying to hold him off, but he's wielding more power than I've ever seen, even for Lord Sparda! Generals Cerberus and Nevan have already fallen, and we believe his aim is to challenge the Emperor Mundus himself!" Neither Fenrir nor Hantu answered right away, as if hesitant to say anything, but the Greater goaded them on. "Don't just stand there, arm yourselves! We must defend the Emperor!"

Before anyone could say any more, the Greater by the door suddenly exploded in a shower of blood, a massive curved blade cleaving him in half. Fenrir's hand instinctively leapt up to the zwiehander on his back, but he froze before he could pull it out, as the slain demon was quickly replaced by Sparda himself. The black-armored and purple-skinned demon absolutely radiated with power, red lightning crackling about his body as he stood in the door. The rebelling Devil Knight did not move from his spot as he eyed Fenrir and Hantu patiently, waiting for them to make the first move.

The blue wolf demon stared at Sparda nervously for a few moments, noticing out the corner of his eye that Hantu, tensed up and ready to fight, was just as apprehensive as Fenrir and waiting patiently for his comrade's signal. Finally, he grimaced and slid his sword back into its sheath as he shook his head. "Uh-uh, not this time, man. This time I know better than to try and mess with you."

Sparda nodded respectfully at the pair then walked past them and began to head higher into the tower. Fenrir hesitated, but then called out before Sparda had left the room. "Sir, wait a minute!" The Devil Knight paused and glanced in his direction. "Before you go, I've just got one quick question for you, please sir…" The wolf demon shrugged his shoulders in confusion. "Why?"

Sparda stared at them for a moment, as if considering his answer, and Fenrir added quickly "I-I mean, the Demon World doesn't look kindly upon traitors, and you're giving up so much by helping these humans. I just need to know…what is it that makes all this worthwhile for you?"

The Devil Knight nodded, then said simply "Because it's the right thing to do," and left.

***

Driving down the highway, Fenrir chuckled softly to himself. The pair had already been having second thoughts about their involvement in the war, but didn't see any other choice; they'd been following orders for so much of their adult lives that doing anything else seemed inconceivable. Sparda changed all that. "To think that seven little words could be such a life-changer…"

Hantu glanced at him from the passenger's seat. "You say something?"

"Hm? Nah, it's nothing."

It took them a few hours of travel to reach the listed address, and the setting sun lit their way down the small side-street and to the building at its end. From what they could tell, it seemed to be a store of some kind, with a pair of sizeable double doors at its front and a bright red neon sign above the entrance. As they approached, Fenrir eyed the sign quizzically, pulled out the letter, and checked the address again. "This…is it?"

His hooded companion glanced it over. "Looks like he runs a business for himself."

"Yeah, but…" Fenrir replied with another leery glance at the neon sign. "what's up with the weird-ass name? 'Devil May Cry'? Who thought that one up?"

The store's interior was dark, but it was obvious that it had been occupied only recently; the place was relatively clean except for an empty pizza box that sat open on a pool table on the side of the room. The pair opened the door cautiously and went inside, paying no attention to the red motorcycle parked out front. Though the front room was empty, they paused to admire the various trophies and Devil Arms lining the store's walls.

Fenrir whistled as his gaze crossed over a set of blue nunchuks, what looked like a dark purple guitar and a set of black greaves and gauntlets that had white vein-like lines decorating them. "Damn, one hell of a collection this guy's got here." He noticed Hantu wince and added "No pun intended."

They checked the back rooms, but those were as empty as the front. "Looks like he's not home." Hantu remarked.

"Looks like. Think he's popular enough with the locals that one of them might know where he is?"

A woman's voice from behind the pair answered before Hantu could. "He might. Real question is, who wants to know?"

Fenrir froze at the feeling of cold metal, a gun, pressed up against his spine. Hantu glanced behind them with widened eyes; this mystery woman had been able to approach them without alerting him to her presence, a feat in and of itself. She actually stood a head shorter than the man she was holding up, but that didn't seem to bother her much, and wore a loosely-buttoned white shirt, brown gloves and knee-high red boots. What initially looked like a plaid skirt actually turned out to be a utility belt stuffed to the brim with ammo clips for a variety of firearms. When the woman noticed Hantu glaring at her, she briefly glared back from under her short black hair with strikingly heterochromatic eyes; one red and one blue. Despite the subtle threat being made against him, Fenrir was not one to be intimidated so easily, and he said with a slight grin. "And who would you be, his girlfriend or something?"

He immediately regretted the playful remark, as the woman impatiently pressed the gun harder into his back. Hantu, however, noticed that at the same time her face had taken a slightly reddish tone. "Just answer the question."

"Ow, geeze, come on lady, ease up with the boomstick a bit, would ya?"

The woman blinked in confusion. "Who told you my name?"

Fenrir paused with confusion of his own. "Wait, what?"

She sighed, exasperated. "Look, just tell me why you're looking for Dante and, depending on your answer, I MIGHT ease up on the gun in your back."

The wolf demon nodded. "Alright, alright, least you're honest about it. Would you believe we've been hired to protect Dante from an impending assassination?"

"You're joking, right?" Lady said with a laugh. "Someone's actually willing to pay money to safeguard that lazy ass?"

"…Guess that rules out the girlfriend thing, huh?"

"His business partner, to be precise."

"And that business would be…?"

Lady answered with a bit of mischievous grin on her face. "Hunting down Demons like you two."

Fenrir grit his teeth and said somewhat cautiously "Even the ones who are looking to help you out…?"

To his relief, he lost the feeling of the gun's cold metal pressing against his back. "I'll believe it when I see it." She commented.

"So you know where he is, then?"

Lady holstered the handgun and walked over to the corner of the room, where a rocket launcher with a large bayonet sticking out its front sat propped up against the wall. "I have a fairly good idea. Lately, there have been a series of very…suspicious job offers being sent in our direction: ones that gave very vague descriptions of the mission being offered, but very SPECIFIC descriptions of what sort of agent they were looking for, always describing Dante without actually asking for him by name. I took it upon myself to do a little investigating and found a Lesser Demon was behind the suspicious offers, with the obvious intention of luring Dante out into the open; I'm guessing that would be the assassination attempt you were talking about?"

Fenrir and Hantu gave each other a nervous glance, but Lady ignored it and continued. "I came here to let him know, but found you two instead."

"So DO you know where he is?" Fenrir asked impatiently. Lady held a newspaper clipping in front of his face. "My guess? He's already taken the bait and is on his way to the old prison complex downtown."

The wolf demon turned to his companion and said quickly "We gotta get goin', man."

Lady put an arm in front of him as she walked past. "Hold on, I'm coming with you."

"What, still don't trust us?"

"Not entirely, no. But the threat certainly seems genuine, and I think it's about time I had a turn at saving his ass for a change."


	3. Legacies of Our Fathers: Act 2

The prisons, a national facility that covered multiple acres of land, had long-since been closed due to cuts in federal budgets and its numerous cell blocks and rehabilitation facilities now sat empty. But on this night, one figure could be seen lounging on top of the prison's outer walls. Dante hummed to himself as he twirled one of his personally customized handguns, gazing absent-mindedly at the moon hanging high in the sky. He sat alone for several long minutes until, as if out of nowhere, a figure in a cloak made of flowing black mist and a statuesque mask appeared behind him, the eye slits glowing with a bright green light. Without looking at the figure, Dante grinned and said "I knew if I waited long enough you'd decide to come out of hiding."

"You KNEW I was here?" Kalaratri said indignantly.

"Had a feeling, yeah. What took you so long? Hoping I'd come inside and walk into whatever trap you have set up?" Kalaratri didn't answer, but the glow from her eyes brightened to reflect her anger. "Can I take that as a yes?"

"You are an…IRRITATING little half-breed." The shadowy woman spat, causing Dante to laugh in response.

"Woo, boy, that was fast. Usually takes a lot longer for women to get pissed off at me. I must be on my game tonight."

As he talked, Kalaratri slowly drew a large scythe, the Pier Donia, from the darkness of her cloak. The large weapon had a relatively simple design with two handles sticking out its sides, but the moonlight reflected off and drew attention to its wickedly sharp blade. "Even if you were NOT the son of my sworn enemy, I would happily end your worthless life."

Dante laughed again, which only served to irritate her further. "Ouch, baby, that one hurt!"

In a flash, the scythe was suddenly above her head and aimed toward the red-coated devil hunter. "And so will this!"

Her strike was as fast as her windup, but Dante was already out of its path, and he fired at her with his handguns while in mid-air. The bullets passed harmlessly through her cloak, and Kalaratri leapt up after him. Returning his pistols to their holsters, the man in the red coat drew the claymore Rebellion from its sheath on his back and used it to block Kalaratri's scythe. The unexpectedly powerful impact, however, pushed him back down to the ground, while his opponent hovered in the air. The cloaked woman hurled the Pier Donia high above her and pulled two more slightly smaller scythes from under her shroud. She threw both weapons at Dante, then caught her own handled scythe as it came back down.

Noticing the spinning blades coming at him from above, Dante dashed forward to duck under them and glanced up just in time to see Kalaratri hurtling towards him with the Pier Donia held high. He put away his Rebellion and held both hands in front of him, waiting. With Kalaratri's weapon mere inches away from him, Dante suddenly thrust his hands forward and blocked the blade, energy crackling through the air from the impact.

"Hmph." Kalaratri scoffed "Where did a half-blood like you learn Royal Guard techniques?"

He flashed his same cocky smile at her again. "Oh, I pick things up here and there."

Dante thrust his hand forward to release the energy absorbed from the blocked attack, but Kalaratri was already out of his reach. She landed several feet away and pulled the Pier Donia back. It began to crackle with demonic energy until finally she threw it, spinning through the air, at her opponent. Dante took a flying leap to get out of the way of the large weapon, but the scythe followed him, forcing him to stay on the move. He leapt again, but when he landed, Kalaratri was suddenly behind him and one of her secondary scythes was raking across his back. The blow pushed him forward and into the path of the Pier Donia, which impaled him through the chest.

"Pathetic." She said with a euphoric smile that was hidden by her mask. "I was expecting more from Sparda's…" Her words trailed off as Dante stood up straight with the scythe's blade still stuck in his body.

"Now now" He reminded her "the fat lady hasn't sung just yet."

The red-coated devil hunter pulled the Pier Donia out of his chest with some effort and a few spurts of blood, then turned around and pulled the scythe back in the same way Kalaratri had done earlier. After the weapon began crackling with his own blood-red energy, he hurled it towards her. The scythe did nothing but pass through the mist of her cloak, and she caught it as it came out the other side. "You presume to try and use MY skills against me?" she growled "You just LIVE to insult my very existence, don't you?"

Dante shrugged nonchalantly. "Not exactly, but if the shoe fits…"

The green glow from Kalaratri's eyes became brighter than ever before, and she stuck the Pier Donia into the ground to reach both hands back into her misty cloak. Before she could withdraw whatever she was seeking, however, a blue-skinned wolf demon suddenly leapt into the fray and struck her from behind with an icy-blue zweihander. More startled than hurt, Kalaratri leapt away, pulling out a pair of scythes. "Who dares to interfere with my hunt?!"

Fenrir waved lightly. "Yo! How's it goin'?"

Dante eyed the new arrival with amusement. "And who would this be?"

"He is soon to be a dead man!" The cloaked woman shouted as she crouched down and dashed back towards the interloper. She held each scythe at her side and brought them together to chop Fenrir in half. The wolf demon blocked one blade with his own weapon while Hantu suddenly appeared beside him and blocked the other with both of his swords. "Another one! What is this?!"

Fenrir grinned. "Oh, just a couple of guys who'd really appreciate it if you didn't kill Mr. Dante here."

Kalaratri backed off and muttered. "You are Greater Demons, yet you…you are traitors to the Demon World, then?"

"Something like that." He held his zweihander in a ready stance. "Think you can handle getting ganged up three-on-one?"

"I'm the daughter of a Devil Knight, you idiots! OF COURSE I CAN!" Reaching back into her cloak, she suddenly threw a full dozen whirling scythes at the two Renegades. Hantu vanished into thin air while Fenrir crouched down and held his Ymir zweihander in front of his body to protect himself. Dante glanced between the two parties and calmly pulled a sawn-off shotgun out of his coat. "You two will regret having interfered in my affairs." Kalaratri said as Fenrir stood back up and brushed himself off.

"You're probably right." The wolf demon replied simply. "Doesn't mean we're going anywhere, though."

The cloaked woman glared at him and reached out her hand to making a beckoning gesture. The Pier Donia yanked itself out of the ground and spun towards its master, but as it neared her hand, Hantu suddenly reappeared and stabbed her outstretched arm, preventing her from grabbing ahold of the weapon. Reacting quickly, Kalaratri used her other hand to pull another secondary scythe from her cloak and raised it to strike him when Dante suddenly stepped in front of her. "Hey! Forgetting someone?"

Sticking the shotgun into her face, he let loose with a blast of energized buckshot, pushing her backwards and cracking her mask from the impact. She only had time to let out a scream of frustration before she was interrupted by a rocket flying towards her, signaling Lady's arrival on the scene. Kalaratri managed to recall her handled scythe, successfully this time, and deflected the explosive before it could strike her, then turned from her numerous opponents and leapt away, out of sight.

Fenrir looked over the edge of the roof to try and find the cloaked woman, but she was already gone. He commented to the man in the red coat. "That was a pretty nice shot."

"Why thank you." Dante answered, half-serious. "You can show your appreciation by telling me who the hell you two are and why you jumped in like that."

Fenrir glanced at him with a raised eyebrow. "Wha?"

The devil hunter crossed his arms. "Well, let's face it, I ain't exactly Mr. Popular among your kind, yet here I have two Demons stepping in on one of the more interesting fights I've had lately."

"I'm curious about that myself." Lady added as she approached.

Dante glanced at her with a sly grin on his face. "Ho, looks like there's a lot going on tonight if you're hanging around too."

"Oh, shut up and let them answer." The human woman scoffed.

Fenrir grimaced and said to Dante "Dude, your girlfriend is scary."

Lady suddenly had a gun in her hand and pointed it at his face, her own face regaining its reddish tone. "AHEM."

"Alright, alright." The wolf demon cleared his throat before continuing. "The name's Fenrir. Bottom line is that my buddy Hantu here and I are mercenaries, hired to do a job. That job just so happens to entail keeping crazy-scythe-chick from taking your head off."

Dante laughed in disbelief. "Someone actually hired you as bodyguards for me? And you took the job?"

"Told you it doesn't exactly happen every day." Lady said to Fenrir with a shrug.

"Well, we've got our own personal stake in your survival too. See, we owe your old man Sparda big time for the help he gave us back in the day. Figured the least we could do is hop on over and make sure his only son didn't end up get shanked."

Dante began laughing even harder now, almost doubling over and he clutched his stomach. Fenrir glanced between the Son of Sparda, Lady and Hantu nervously, unsure of what to make of this. Finally, as Dante regained his composure, he answered the wolf demon's confused looks. "Now this…this is unreal! Gotta be the first time I've ever been tracked down by Demons who knew my father, but DIDN'T want to take their hatred of him out on me!"

"Yyyyeah, he's not exactly popular in the Underworld either…"

The red-coated devil hunter wiped tears from his eyes and said. "Well, sorry, but you made the trip for nothing."

Fenrir stopped and frowned. "Um……come again?"

"Appreciate the offer, really do, but I fight my own battles, thank you very much. I'll handle mask-babe on my own."

The wolf demon held up his hands and shook his head. "Woah, woah, wait a second. Kalaratri ain't exactly a pushover, as you might have noticed. Her father was on par with Sparda's power when they were Devil Knights together, and she's a full-blooded Demon to boot."

"How'd you know I was only half?"

Fenrir nodded towards Lady. "Your girlfriend explained it on the way here."

The human woman's face turned a bright red this time as she began to pull out a large magnum and shouted "NOT. HIS. GIRLFRIEND!" Before she could point it at Fenrir, however, Dante waved her down.

Confident that he wouldn't be getting shot in the face just yet, Fenrir continued. "Look, I'll admit that you've inherited more than enough of Sparda's power to handle the average Greater Demon with ease, that much has been obvious. But Kalaratri's not your average Greater Demon, she's way beyond that, way beyond either of us. You go after her without bringing some back-up, you're not gonna live to talk about it."

Dante simply shrugged. "Yeah, maybe."

Far from the response he expected, Fenrir tried to get an explanation out of him. "…ssso then…?"

"But that's not important. I don't let anyone else fight my battles, especially one as much fun as this. Never have, and I don't plan on starting now." He turned and waved the pair of interlopers away. "So go on back to your employer and tell him there's no job for you to do here." Before Fenrir could respond, Dante took a few steps forward and leapt off the roof.

Fenrir gripped the sides of his head in frustration. "That…rrgh! Is he suicidal or something?!"

"I've always had a feeling he might be." Lady replied nonchalantly.

"You're not just gonna let him run off on his own, are you?"

"Of course not." The human devil hunter said, shifting the rocket launcher on her back into a more comfortable position. "But are you?"

Fenrir shook his head grimly. "Hey, he may not like it, but we're not going anywhere till we've fulfilled our contract. We got paid in advance, after all."

"Then we'd better hurry and follow him. Dante can move pretty quickly when he wants to."

Hantu, thus far having remained a silent observer, spoke up. "I'll go on ahead and keep an eye on him."

Lady cast him a surprised glance as Fenrir said "Now there's an idea. Good thinkin', man."

The hooded assassin nodded and disappeared, and Lady commented to Fenrir "Doesn't talk much, does he? I'd almost forgotten he was even here."

"Yeah, pretty much keeps to himself most of the time."

She continued with a sly smirk "I could get used to being around a Demon that wasn't a complete chatterbox."

Fenrir glanced at her with a wounded look on his face. "Hey, now that was just mean, I don't talk THAT much."

Lady turned and started to walk off, heading for the nearest stairs. "Feel free to just stand there while you wait for an apology." The wolf demon ran to catch up to her, shouting "So was that!!"

***

The nearby administrative building had once housed the offices of the prison staff, and Dante had followed Kalaratri's trail into its dusty halls. His twin pistols Ebony and Ivory were out in hands, ready to fire at a moment's notice. The red-coated devil hunter's current path led him to an open atrium, where an overhead skylight cast a pale illumination over the tiled floors. The sound of metal whirling through the air caught his attention, and he rolled to the side to avoid a scythe blade that was aimed right at his head. Before he could stop to find the source, however, several more blades came flying out of the shadows, forcing him to stay on the move. He landed next to a wall, hoping to use the cover to eliminate one angle of attack, but he was stopped short by a previously-unseen blade catching his leg and pinning it against the floor. Before he could holster one of his handguns to pull it out, the rest of his limbs were struck and pinned against wall or floor themselves.

Once she was confident that Dante was trapped, Kalaratri revealed herself. "You're finished, Son of Sparda."

Despite being filled with more sharp metal than a pincushion, Dante remained unperturbed "Hey, what'd I say about that fat lady? I don't hear her singin' yet, do you?"

Rather than get mad, the cloaked woman decided to simply get even, lifting the Pier Donia into the air above her head. "She's just warming up…"

Before she could bring the large scythe down, however, Kalaratri felt a sharp pain in the back of her knees and let out a yelp as she lost her footing. Glancing around, she spotted Hantu crouching right behind her. "You again?!"

The hooded assassin leapt out of the way as she swept her scythe along the floor and stood up. Eyeing him through her mask, Kalaratri's anger quickly turned to annoyance. "I would very much like to know what a member of the Hantu family is doing interfering in my business." Hantu's dark-irised eyes widened visibly against his pale face, but he said nothing in response, prompting Kalaratri to continue. "Yes, I recognize you. My father owns the realm your family makes its home in, you think I wouldn't be familiar with my constituents? You wear dark colors, are easily overlooked at first glance and have a tendency to vanish from sight without warning…common traits for a Hantu demon."

She pulled the Pier Donia back and hurled it at her opponent, quickly pulling out two more scythes and throwing them as well. Hantu dove forward, twisting himself in mid-air in a cat-like maneuver to avoid the whirling blades, and Kalaratri was waiting for him with another scythe that she swung vertically along the floor. The assassin disappeared, avoiding the attack, and reappeared several feet away from her. With her back turned, Kalaratri failed to notice Dante's behavior; while he listened to their "conversation" with a mild interest, he winced as he slowly pulled one of his pinned arms along the bloody scythe blade that held it into the wall, red energy crackling around his body.

"Now, let's see…" Kalaratri recalled her handled scythe and turned to face Hantu, whirling the Pier Donia in her hand as she spoke. "large eyes, a humanoid build, gaunt face, weapons with bone-white blades…You must be a relative of Hantu Jarang, correct?" Her opponent didn't answer, but at this point she didn't really expect him to, if he was who she thought he was. "Yet I don't recall him ever speaking of a male relative that wielded twin swords and had the gall to support the traitorous Sparda. Nor one that was allied with a wolf demon from the Frozen Hell."

Hantu pulled out several illusionary blades and threw them at Kalaratri in a cluster, causing her to spin her scythe much faster to deflect them. "Unless…" the cloaked woman thought for a moment, her eyes focusing on her opponent as she slowly approached him "unless you would happen to be Hantu Kubor, who has been officially missing in action since Sparda's rebellion two millennia ago. Jarang doesn't like to talk about family members who have proven themselves to be an embarrassment to his renowned clan of assassins, but I over-heard him mention you to my father. He wouldn't be too pleased to learn that his only son has been running about the Human World like some renegade hooligan, obstructing the important work of Demon World rulers for pocket change."

"I…have long since stopped concerning myself with what my father thinks of me." Hantu finally answered, though his voice was strained, as if he had difficulty saying it aloud.

"Hmph. I feel sorry for you, then, if you don't have the dignity to- AUGH!" Kalaratri cried out as she was suddenly struck in the back by one of her own scythe blades. She turned around to see Dante pulling himself off the wall, some of her blades still stuck into his body. "What the-?!"

The red-coated half-blood shrugged. "Aw, you didn't expect me to just hang around there all day, did you?"

Kalaratri's green eyes had brightened again, and her arms trembled with frustrated anger. "You…you…!!"

"Oh" Dante added, turning his attention to Hantu "but I gotta thank you, shorty. Took me a minute to get the proper leverage there, so thanks for keeping her busy."

"Mm…you're welcome…" The hooded assassin replied, any further words being cut short as he had to duck out of the way of Kalaratri's scythe.

"I had him!" She screamed, outraged. "I HAD HIM, AND BECAUSE OF YOU-!!"

"And now you don't." Dante said with a shrug and a smile. "Better luck next time, baby."

Using a free hand, Kalaratri pulled a cluster of scythe blades from her cloak and tossed them at him just as the sound of glass shattering echoed through the atrium; a rocket struck her blades and knocked them off course, quickly followed by Fenrir and Lady dropping down from above. "Hey, give my buddy over there a break." The wolf demon said as he drew his own weapon. "He may be a bit of a pain in the ass, but that's no reason to try and kill him."

Hantu narrowed his eyes in exasperation. "Gee, thanks."

Glancing around at the crowd once again surrounding her, Kalaratri stopped her gaze on Dante. "Are you so much of a coward that you refuse to face me alone, Son of Sparda?"

The man in the red coat simply shrugged. "Hey, it doesn't look like I'm getting much of a choice here." Kalaratri scoffed at his words and then ducked into a nearby hallway and vanished. Dante turned to Fenrir and continued. "Speaking of which, didn't I just tell you two to clear out?"

"Sorry man, but as long as Kalaratri's here, so will we."

Nodding, Dante suddenly dropped his light-hearted demeanor and pulled the Rebellion off his back. "So what's stopping me from just kicking your asses and being on my way? I'm running outta patience here."

Fenrir initially shared Lady's surprised reaction, but he remembered that this wasn't the first time he was faced with this weapon or the techniques used by its wielder. "If that's what you, fine, give us your best shot. But I warn you, don't underestimate either of us. We know how to fight with the best of them because we learned from YOUR dad, both first-hand and watching from afar, and we probably know more about his techniques than you do. We may not be Devil Knights or the kids of one, but we've spent centuries honing our skills and our coordination; we're still a far cry from Sparda, but we could give YOU a run for your money, and together we could probably beat you. So if you want to settle this with violence, go ahead, show us what you can do."

Dante grinned and eyed the pair hungrily. "Thought you'd never ask…" Before any blows could be exchanged, however, Lady stepped between the two of them.

"OR you two could stop being idiots and think rationally for a bit." She said impatiently.

"What? Come on Lady, I've got a right to my privacy, and if these two can't get it through their heads, I'm just gonna have to get rough with them."

"Oh, so suddenly wanting to lend you a hand without your express permission counts as invading your privacy? And you 'kick their asses' as a result?" Lady replied, glaring at him.

Dante regarded her indignation with a bit of amused confidence. "About sums it up, yeah."

"So what about me? I'm not about to let you face that woman on your own, are you going to kick my ass too?" This gave the Son of Sparda pause and his smile faded. "Hadn't thought about that, have you? Figured I'd just run on home if you told me to?"

"Look, Lady…" Dante started, but the dark-haired woman cut him off. "I won't have you hold me to some double-standard either. You want to fight them to get them out of the way, you'll have to fight me to. And you KNOW I can hold my own against you." She said, reminding him of the time they'd squared off while both in pursuit of her father Arkham. He'd won that little engagement, but it was a hard-fought battle, and he didn't quite like his odds if faced against her while at the same time as the two newcomers.

"So what would you like me to do instead?" Dante asked, crossing his arms.

"How about swallowing your pride, FOR ONCE, and accepting some help? We won't tell anybody, I promise." Lady added with a hint of sarcasm.

The Son of Sparda stared at her for a moment as he thought it over, then sighed, threw his hands up in the air and glanced over at Fenrir. "Looks like I won't be winning this one." He said with a bit of a laugh "You want to help me take Kalaratri down? Fine; what did you have in mind?"

Fenrir turned his gaze to Hantu, who suggested "Certainly not the direct approach. Kalaratri will see that coming from a mile away and refuse to confront us."

"In that case, I might have an idea." Lady added. "If we can't track her down, we'll have to make her come to us."


	4. Legacies of Our Fathers: Act 3

Kalaratri prowled the top of the solitary confinement building, its high height giving her a good vantage point over the rest of the prison. As her eyes scanned the surrounding grounds, she cursed under her breath at the source of all her current woes: Sparda. Bad enough that the former Devil Knight had destroyed her father's reputation, but now he continued to harass her from afar, throwing mercenaries at her to hinder her progress and giving his filthy son far more power than any half-blood should realistically have. Killing this Dante would satisfy her thirst for revenge, but how she desired to take the father's head instead…

Speaking of which, she spotted her prey in the distance; his red coat stood out against the gloomy grey of the prison's execution house and graveyard. Kalaratri approached slowly, scanning the surrounding area. Neither the two renegade Demons nor the annoying human with the rocket launcher were anywhere to be seen; hopefully, the Son of Sparda had finally managed to shake them off his tail.

The cloaked woman landed at the edge of the graveyard and could now see that Dante sat hunched over on one of the graves with his back to her, whistling to himself. After having failed twice now, Kalaratri could not take any more chances; she hopped silently a few feet into the air and then launched herself towards the red-coated man, the Pier Donia in her hands and ready to strike. Her approach was perfect; she made no sound, there were no reflective surfaces that would give her away, and she hadn't been there long enough for the half-blood to sense her. Yet when she was mere inches away, her target rolled off the grave and out of her reach.

Expecting, though at the same time hoping against, this outcome, Kalaratri immediately reached inside her cloak and hurled a secondary scythe at the target as he moved out of the way. He turned to face her and used a blue zweihander to deflect it…and when she saw who her opponent was, she stopped in confusion. He was slightly shorter than Dante, with brown hair even shorter than Dante's own white. She was about to say he was an ordinary human…until she got a good look at his face and the blade he carried and recognized both. "Well, Fenrir Lupus. I should've known this was merely a trick." She said, growling in irritation.

"Aw man, you figured out it was me that quick?" Blue lightning crackled around him as he dropped his human disguise and morphed back into his demonic form. "Here I thought I'd get a chance to lead you on a bit."

"You shame yourself, Sergeant." Kalaratri reprimanded, glancing behind her as Hantu appeared a few feet away. "You both do."

Fenrir's eyebrows rose. "You know us?"

"I didn't initially. It wasn't until I recognized your little friend as being a Hantu that I made the connection between you and Sparda, Sergeant Fenrir Lupus and Corporal Kubor Hantu of the Demon Emperor's Army. You two are listed among the casualties of Emperor Mundus' invasion of the Human World two thousand years ago, and were presumed killed during Sparda's rebellion…until recently."

"And now?" Fenrir asked curiously.

"Now you're considered Missing in Action…but they'll have to change it back once I'm through with the two of you." Guessing what was coming next, Fenrir readied himself for action. "Between your interference and that infernal Son of Sparda, my patience is at its end. I'll resume my hunt for the half-blood once I've carried out the executions of a pair of traitorous scum."

Rather than cower in fear, as most of her opponents tended to do, Fenrir instead laughed and said in a tauntingly sarcastic voice "God, I'm glad I'm not one of THOSE poor saps, it sounds like they're SCREWED!"

Suddenly whirling around, Kalaratri threw several scythe blades at Hantu, forcing him to disappear to avoid them, before leaping at Fenrir with the Pier Donia raised above her head. Gripping his own Ymir with both hands, he swung the zweihander to block the incoming scythe; succeeding, but just barely, as the sharp blade came within inches of his face. Using the scythe's curved shape, Kalaratri tried to pull the sword out of Fenrir's hands, but the force of his grip beat her pull; instead of just the weapon being thrown aside, the wolf demon went with it. He hit the ground rolling and regained his footing, which was fortunate as his opponent refused to let up her offensive. Moving her hands quickly along the scythe's long shaft and its handles, Kalaratri shifted between angles of attack at a rate far faster than a weapon of that size was normally capable of, the steel blade of the scythe dancing through the air like a leaf in the wind. Fenrir barely had time to block each strike, but he didn't seem too concerned; it was all going according to plan.

***

High above them, on the roof of the execution building, Lady poked her head over the side of the roof and glanced down at the battle below. "Hurry it up, they've already gotten started."

"Boy, that was fast." Dante commented as he carried a sniper rifle to the roof's edge. "Woulda been nice if I could've gotten set up before they decided to throw down." He peered through the rifle's scope and centered on Kalaratri's mask. "There you are. Let's see what you look like under that mask…" Before he could pull the trigger, however, the cloaked woman moved out of the way as Fenrir attempted a counter-attack. "Hey!"

Lady sat watching him try to draw a bead on his mobile target with amusement. "Don't have much experience with this sort of thing, do you?"

"I'll have you know I've got a rifle just like this at home…"

"I meant this, the whole idea of stealth and sniping."

"Well…" Dante started, not entirely sure what he was going to say after that. Given his particular brand of fighting style, the only time he really needed to shoot an enemy in the head was when his pistol was pressing up against their forehead.

His companion put a hand on his rifle to stop him from moving it around so much. "Then let me suggest something to you: patience. You need to wait for the perfect moment to fire, cause if you miss, the whole plan's a bust. So relax, otherwise there's a good chance you'll screw this up."

"Gee, thanks for the show of confidence." He replied with a sly smile.

"You're welcome." Lady said, returning the smirk.

***

Down below, Hantu lurked in the shadows of the graves surrounding Kalaratri and Fenrir's duel, waiting for his own moment to strike. He found it as Fenrir took a quick step back, forcing Kalaratri to move forward to keep him in reach. The assassin sped out from his hiding place and stabbed one of his swords into Kalaratri's foot, stopping her in mid-step. She glanced down and slashed at him to ward Hantu off, distracting her long enough for Fenrir to draw one of his hands over his zweihander; energy began to crackle around the large blade as a cold fog drifted off the ice-covered metal. Kalaratri noticed it at the last moment, as his Ymir streaked through the air towards her. She managed to block the blow in time, but felt a strange chilling sensation around her as she did. Hopping a few feet back, Kalaratri pulled her fog cloak aside to reveal the black robes she wore underneath; patches of frost had begun to form in the areas near where she had blocked Fenrir's zweihander.

"Freezing the air around your sword when you attack…" The cloaked woman growled at him. "You've learned a few new tricks since leaving the Army, haven't you?" Replacing her shroud, she tossed the Pier Donia into the air and reached both hands into her cloak. "It still won't be enough to keep me from the Son of Sparda! Nothing either of you can do will keep me from my hunt!" When she pulled her hands back out, they were suddenly followed by an entire swarm of scythe blades that came flying out of her shroud. The two Renegades took cover behind nearby gravestones, which became consumed by the dozens of whirling blades.

"You're busy with us and yet you're STILL going on about that guy?" Fenrir shouted, eyeing the sharp metal that now impaled his hiding place. "You've got some issues, you know that? Why do you want to kill him so badly, anyway?"

"WHY?!" Kalaratri's voice came from directly above him, laden with fury. Fenrir rolled out of the way as Kalaratri used her handle scythe to slash the gravestone he had been using in half. "DO YOU EVEN NEED TO ASK?! Do you even KNOW what his family has done to mine??"

"No, actually, we don't!" Fenrir replied, taking shelter behind another grave. "Side-effect of living in self-imposed exile from the Demon World, right?"

The cloaked woman came to a stop standing atop one of the gravestones. "You want to know, then?"

"Can't deny that I'm atleast a little curious." Dante, hidden atop the nearby building, had to admit that he felt the same, despite Lady's insistence that he had the perfect opportunity to end this whole business.

"SPARDA" Kalaratri continued "despite his infamy and crimes against our people, is still considered to be one of the greatest Devil Knights the Underworld has ever known. Even when compared to other Devil Knights, he is seen as without equal, a preposterous notion that is only reinforced by the fact that my father, Koshchei, refused to face him during Sparda's historical rebellion."

"Ok, so Sparda gets more acclaim then you think he deserves." Fenrir commented, not seeing her point. "So what?"

"Because that is the kind of acclaim MY father deserves!" She screamed as years of pent up outrage came flooding out. "He has been a Devil Knight for far longer than any other member, especially Sparda, and has won countless battles for our Emperor and the Council that carries out his will! Yet STILL Sparda and the other Devil Knights are considered his superiors! And because of my father's actions during the rebellion, he is even considered to be too cowardly to face a foe of Sparda's level! MY FATHER called a COWARD by even the lowest of the Underworld's scum!"

"Alright, alright, chill out already!" The wolf demon shouted back, the fact suddenly occurring to him that Kalaratri might have some anger management problems. "What does Dante have to do with this, then?"

"I had originally thought to track down the traitor and kill HIM to reclaim my father's glory, but SPARDA, the TRUE coward here, is nowhere to be found! The bastard's son should be enough to satisfy my goals, however; even if Sparda himself refuses to face me, then atleast I can prove to our people that my father's powers themselves are superior to his!"

Fenrir glanced over at Hantu, who was hidden a few feet away, with a slightly pained look on his face. "Think I should?"

His companion shrugged "Not like we have much to lose."

The wolf demon nodded, then stuck his head out from behind the grave and shouted "You know, that's got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard!"

Kalaratri's eyes widened behind her mask, a mixture of anger and surprise at the audacity of these peasants. "Excuse me?!"

"Alright, first off" Fenrir continued as he stood up from behind the gravestone "how exactly does it make sense to take out your frustration with Sparda…by beating up on his son? Second, how stupid- Woah!" He was cut off, almost literally, by Kalaratri's scythe nearly taking away his head.

"Were you even listening to me?!" The cloaked woman roared.

"Sure was!" Fenrir replied as he quickly brought his zweihander up to block another blow. "I still think it's pretty idiotic! But that's not even the best part about your delusional little rant you had going! The best part is that you somehow seem to think people don't like Koshchei because he's outshined by the other Devil Knights! You know what? The people who don't like him probably JUST DON'T LIKE HIM. Our fellow Demons can be pretty childish like that sometimes, so what better reason would they need?"

"Does that somehow mean I'm not allowed to seek justice for my father?"Kalaratri shouted.

"Not if he doesn't want you to." Hantu's voice came from behind her. Shoving Fenrir away, Kalaratri glanced around for the assassin, but he had hidden himself out of sight.

"My father suffers in his disgrace! Why wouldn't he want me to bring him the pride he deserves?!"

"Because he doesn't care, perhaps?" Hantu said, his words echoing out from his hiding place to cover the entire graveyard. "I have never had the honor of meeting Lord Koshchei personally, but I have seen and learned much about him. He is powerful, imposing…and humble. It is likely the humility that has caused him to lose favor with the populace, who are well-known for having a love of ruthlessness, and that same humility keeps him from giving such negative opinions about him a second thought. If he did, don't you think he'd be here himself?"

"So with that said," Fenrir added "what's the real reason you're so obsessed with your father's reputation?" Kalaratri didn't answer, and she visibly seemed to hesitate, as if considering what to say next. "What, that's it? You've got nothin' else? Damn, and you were calling US pathe-"

"SHUT UP!" Kalaratri interrupted him by whirling around and delivering a glancing blow across the chest. The wolf demon winced and stepped backward, but Kalaratri wasn't finished just yet. She reached inside her cloak and hurled a dozen scythes into the air; grabbing each one as they came back down, she unleashed a whirlwind of successive attacks. Fenrir tried to block or dodge the incoming storm of blades, but her assault was faster than anything she'd utilized before, and a scythe that caught him in the leg pulled his footing out from under him. Impaling one weapon in the ground so that its blade pressed against his neck, Kalaratri turned next to Hantu, who had so far remained hidden to wait for an opportunity to strike. Rather than try and find him, the cloaked woman simply sliced apart all the nearby gravestones, forcing the assassin out into the open. Evading another barrage of scythes, Hantu had almost made it to his companion when Kalaratri grabbed the back of his hood and used it to lift him into the air, exposing the messy brown hair that he usually kept hidden.

"Do you have any idea how it felt to grow up with your father's failures hanging around your neck?! To live every day knowing that you yourself would be remembered for what your father did and not what you have?! To know that, once he died, you would be stuck with that unchanging legacy for all eternity?! DO YOU?!"

Being careful not to cut himself against the sharp metal hanging above his throat, Fenrir laughed. "Yeah, actually, I do."

"LIAR." Kalaratri scoffed. "And an obvious lie at that!"

"Think I'm lying, huh? You seemed to be pretty familiar with me earlier, so let's see if you recognize this name: Immortalis Niveus Lupus."

The cloaked woman stopped and glared at him for a moment. "You…"

"Am the son of the one and only Lycaon Lupus, yup. Anybody ever tell you what happened to HIM?"

"Only that he earned such a title for supposedly being 'unkillable'…and he lost it when he died."

"Don't suppose anyone ever told you that title was all he ever had going for him? No lands, no servants, barely got any money working as a freelance soldier…the only thing that kept him, and by extension the rest of his family, from starving to death was his fame as a warrior and the job offers that came as a result."

"And what does that have to do with me?" Kalaratri demanded, though silently dreading the point she assumed he was trying to make.

"Well, when MY father died, you think I let his legacy stop me? You think I went around murdering all of his rivals so he'd look better by comparison? Let me answer that for you: no, I didn't. Know what I DID? Joined the army, because I knew that the best way to restore HIS honor was to gather a bit of fame for myself. That's what my father would've done in my situation and it's likely what your father would've done." He glanced his eyes over to Hantu, who still hung from Kalaratri's hand. "What do you think buddy, you think Koshchei would approve of his daughter cutting everyone else's legs out from under them just so she'd look taller?"

"Not likely, no."

Fenrir noticed their opponent trembling under her cloak, and decided to punctuate their point with a bit of a sneer. "Yeah, didn't think so, cause that'd just be SELFISH."

That last insult was the straw that broke the camel's back; Kalaratri let out an ear-piercing scream of anger and frustration that echoed across the entire prison grounds. But instead of lashing out at the two Renegades before her, she threw Hantu aside and ran shrieking like a banshee from the graveyard, vanishing into the darkness. Pushing the scythe away from his neck, Fenrir sat up slowly. "Huh. Wasn't quite expecting THAT." He turned to look for his companion. "Hantu, you alright man?"

The assassin reappeared, unharmed and repositioning his hood back onto his head. "I'll live. You?"

"Eh, just a bit scratched up." Fenrir noticed Dante and Lady sliding down the side of the nearby execution house. "Hey, what happened to the whole 'shoot her in the face while she's distracted' plan? I thought for a minute you guys had abandoned us."

The red-coated half-demon tossed his sniper rifle back to Lady, who seemed slightly agitated. "Sorry, got too interested in the conversation. Good thing too" he added with a hint of playful sarcasm "it looks like maybe you talked her to death, the way she ran off like that."

"Yeah, if only." Fenrir replied, standing up. "It's a lot more likely she just went and found a corner to pout in for awhile, and then she'll be back."

"In which case, we should go and track her down" Lady said, adding with an annoyed glance at Dante "and maybe NOT screw the plan up this time."

Fenrir nodded and brushed himself off "Works for us. But I think it's YOUR turn to be the bait."

***

They had searched the entire prison complex twice over by the time dawn brought the sun to illuminate the area, and still they hadn't found even a sign of Kalaratri. They were about to finish a third sweep when Dante yawned and suggested. "You know, I'm thinking maybe she's gone for good this time. Might as well go home and get some shut-eye."

Lady glared at him. "YOU'RE just being lazy." He grinned at her and said with a shrug "So what if I am?"

"Guess we'll go find a hotel for ourselves, then." Fenrir said. "No offense, but we'd rather not sleep on the floor of your shop."

"No need to bother." The red-coated devil hunter replied, shooing them away with one hand. "You can go ahead and head on home."

Fenrir sighed, exasperated. "Oh, not this again."

"Look, you guys have been fun, but I really don't think there's any need for you two to stick around. If Kalaratri was just biding her time, don't you think we'd have found her already?"

"That doesn't mean-" Dante cut him off, shaking his head lightly. "Come on, you two weren't planning on chasing me around forever, were you?" A hesitant glance exchanged by the two Renegades answered his question. "But, tell you what: I'll give you guys a call if I ever need a hand, k?" He punctuated his point by jokingly pantomiming a telephone with his hand.

Fenrir sighed. "Fine, whatever. I'm too tired to argue with you about this anymore." He gestured to Hantu and the two turned to leave. "See you 'round, Lady."

As they disappeared down the street, Lady cast Dante a skeptical glance, who grinned at her innocently. "What?"

"You just like having a one-man show better, don't you?" The Son of Sparda didn't answer, instead only looking away and whistling in a continued show of mock innocence.

***

As they walked back to their car, Fenrir rubbed his temples. "You know, if I hadn't gotten a chance to see him fight, I'd have never pegged that jerk for being the noble and honorable Sparda's son."

"Supposedly, Sparda himself wasn't all that different in his younger years." Hantu reminded him. "Perhaps many of the qualities that we're familiar with come with age?"

"Guess we'll see."

They had just reached their vehicle when a familiar voice called out to them from above. "Wait one moment." The two spun around to see Kalaratri perched atop a nearby balcony. She had removed her mask however, and the features normally hidden by the mask and the Smoke Shroud it generated were visible. Kalaratri wore black form-fitting robes, she had the appearance of a human woman in her thirties and her pale and rigid face was framed by long black hair. She still held the Pier Donia in her hand, however, so their own weapons were already out and ready by the time she had leapt down to face them. "Stay your hand, Renegades, I haven't come looking for a fight." Though Kalaratri attempted to appear humble, there was still an indignation in her demeanor.

"Alright" Fenrir said, relaxing a bit even as he eyed her cautiously "so what's all this, then? Come to see us off or something?"

"I came…to thank you." She said with some difficulty. "I'm not happy to admit it, but your words…struck more nerves than perhaps you intended. You were right: I WAS being selfish and ignoring my father's wishes. Having it put out in the open like that has forced me to…rethink some of my priorities."

Fenrir gave her a sly grin, finding the irony of the situation very amusing. "Glad to hear it. Now, about that thanks you were talking about…"

Kalaratri narrowed her eyes at him. "I'll be showing my gratitude by refraining from taking your heads back with me to Tartarus!" Fenrir's face fell in disappointment and she continued. "However, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that I'm postponing my hunt for the Son of Sparda until I can decide what direction I want my life to take from now on."

"'Postponing?'"

Kalaratri smiled a bit smugly. "He IS, after all, an enemy of Hell. While I won't go out of my way to track him down, I assure you, if I'm ORDERED to kill him, I will do so without hesitation."

The wolf demon sighed and shrugged. "Guess that'll have to do."

"The same applies for you two." She added. "While I will refrain from exercising my frustration with you Renegades or disclosing your location to the Council, they need only order me to and I will do both."

"Oh? Why so generous?"

Kalaratri began to turn away from them and leave. "Partially because, yes, I do have you two to thank for giving me some perspective. But also because it won't be necessary." Fenrir frowned in confusion for a brief moment, but his eyes widened when he realized the reason why. "There are already others out there looking for the Son of Sparda…and for you."

With that, she leapt away and out of sight. Fenrir and Hantu stood silently for a moment as they cast each other a nervous glance. Fenrir was the first to put words to their thoughts "Well…shit."


End file.
